Cruel Seas - a preview

I have posted what others have considered some unkind thoughts on Cruel Seas back when it was released and, for a good while, I had no intention of approaching the game in any form. However, as time passed, I gave it a bit more thought and considered giving the game a go because the period had some attraction. I picked up a few books on the subject and that decided it. Let me be clear though: the interest in the period dictated the renewed interest in the game. History first, gaming second as far as I go.

That decision was followed by some umming and ahhing about buying the rule set and the kit to go with it. Seeing as I only wanted to give it a go, I didn't want to spend a great deal on what might only be a single outing. Fortunately, Warlord Games' marketing department (un)knowingly provided a solution. With a couple of issues of Wargames Illustrated sporting Sellotaped sprues, one magazine purchase by myself and a couple of donations (thanks, Andy and Shaun!), meant I had the kernel of a game. First Partizan this year saw me taking the plunge and buying the rule set (the only money I have actually paid directly to support the game, by the way. Maybe the marketing trick of free sprues worked???). Incidentally, at that show, the WI stand were offering a free sprue with every purchase. Hmmm...

Miniature Wargames then got in on the act, offering another sprue, so another magazine purchase added two more boats, followed by some more donations (thanks again to Andy and Shaun). As you can see below, I now have a dozen boats and some torpedo markers to play with for the cost of £20. The magazines would have been purchased regardless of their cover gifts.

I paid for one item here...

Now, I haven't played the game yet, having just perused the rules, but before passing comment on those, I must note the method in which I have acquired the kit. Maybe the marketing of the game was designed to nudge you in the direction of buying the rules, then you'd get more plastic after giving it a go. Maybe the game didn't launch as well as expected and that led to the deluge of plastic on magazine covers. Maybe something in between. I don't know, but in past employment, when I saw so much given away so early in a product's life cycle, that raised concerns about the success of that product. As I say, I could be totally wrong, (and I am also a cynic at heart), but it just feels a little off. Anyhoo, to the rule set themselves.

Pretty, yes. useful, no.

What we have here is a very glossy, picture heavy tome. A couple of spelling and grammar issues (I know, stones and glasshouses here!) do not spoil the overall quality and the game itself seems very straight forward. The mechanisms seem well thought out and not too finicky, though I am not a fan of either the activation process or the dice heavy torpedo rules. The amount of actual historical content is surprisingly high (with a but to be included below) and is backed up by a good bibliography with some excellent sources included. An observation though: the bibliography starts by referencing the Osprey titles about the period (indeed, most of the hand drawn illustrations are from those Ospreys), before noting the non-Osprey sources. Would I be too cynical to suggest that the publisher is guiding readers to their own products first, with the high probability that the "other recommended" sources were also used in the production of those Ospreys in the first place? Possibly, but then there is the full page Osprey advert a page later...

From what I have read, I am looking forward to putting on a game with the group when I get the kit painted (stop sniggering at the back!) and see how we take to Cruel Seas. I do, however, have a few points to make just from the read through...

• The rule set is a giant catalogue. Let's not kid ourselves here. I have seen more than one interview with games designers who has stated that the whole point of rule sets is to sell toys and it is no different here. True, the photographs of the boats are lovely and certainly give a sense of action and drama, but since these are diorama style set ups, no game will ever look that good without some serious (and OTT) effort. Also of note, nearly every page has at least  illustration/image, others are single or double page spreads of photographs, and others are a mixture of both illustrations and photographs. Out of a count of 108 pages, only 12 do not have an image of some kind - and I am not counting the token counters as images. I know the game designers needs to earn a crust, but this is very much style over substance.

The layout. I'm not sure...

• Dice - they will sell me dice for each of the fleets in their own little bag. For £24 a pack. 16 dice (plus bag) for £24. Yes, I know these are unique dice for the game, but seriously, a quick internet search for dice can get me 20 of the buggers for £4! Slightly bigger dice, plus a bag will cost £4 for 10. I can work round the usage issues from there with a teensy bit of thought. And Warlord want £24 for one(!) fleets' worth. Get tae f...!
• As a mechanism, the activation process isn't something I like. I know, it's a personal thing, and it may work well with the game so we'll see. Most games I have played have been simultaneous movement so I will withhold judgement until we play a game.
• Torpedo hits - they require 16 dice (where could I get that many dice... Oh!). It also means, on average scores, you are unlikely to destroy any of the bigger ships, meaning the other player won't go into a huff early on if you sink their big shiny model. Regardless, it's finicky.
• Points - This is a personal thing again, and take into account I have never been a competition gamer, but the designers have put a fair bit of thought into this game and have nodded to historical accuracy. Why then, instead of actual dispositions and force strengths, go for a points based allocation system? Then I remembered, you build your force to the points level you are playing with, which means you buy the kit to fit that points total. Historical accuracy be damned! A lot of my ire towards points systems stems from its inability to be historically accurate unless a ton of thought has gone into it. I recall a rule set in the 90's where you couldn't field what 2 Para had at Goose Green because you didn't have enough points. But that's me, and as I have said before, I am a history buff first and foremost, a historical war gamer second and a gamer third. In any case, I will decide the scenario based on the kit I have and the points allocation will not be taken into account when we do our play through. 
• Historical accuracy. Well, it's there. It's a bit hit and miss, and as noted above, the use of points to define forces means you can do pretty much whatever you want in the game. But the biggest issue I have is that the designers have started off well and then gamed the accuracy out of the window. Would an order of battle been too much to ask for specific theatres? What about actual battles or contacts? Why not try and teach a little bit of history to players in the guise of a game? 
• Condescension. There are little dialogue boxes with hints and advice, each fronted by a nation specific character. Why? I do not need to imagine a chap giving me advice. Place this information in the body of the text and let me read it there. I can cope with this. Finally, there is the whole "have fun, enjoy yourself, treat your fellow player/players with respect" and all that jazz. If you are the type of person who has to be told by the rule set how to be civil or friendly (considering who you are likely to be playing this game with), then something went seriously wrong long before you picked up Cruel Seas.

It may seem that I am being a little harsh but, on the whole, I am cautiously optimistic about playing it. It is plain to see that a lot of effort has gone into the game and my view is tempered by my cynicism to corporate,  marketing and gaming innit bull poo. However, play the game we shall and I will place a report, alongside observations from myself and the rest of the group, on here afterwards. As for when, probably later on in the year.

Helion & Company: The Iran-Iraq War volumes.

Helion and Company have a great track record of publishing titles on some really obscure conflicts and topics, and it was at a war games show last year that I saw the four volume set for the Iran-Iraq War. That conflict is something I recall being on the news quite a bit as a child and as the late 20th Century is my period of choice, purchasing these volumes was an easy decision to make.

Volume one covers the initial battle for the province of Khuzestan in South Western Iran between 1980 and 1982. Volume two follows up with the Iranian response that eventually saw the Faw Peninsula fall to Iranian forces between 1982 and 1986. Volume three takes up the rest of the war, where Iraqi forces retook the Faw Peninsula and battered Iranian forces to a stalemate, at least on the ground. In the air, they had overcome the Iranian Air Force. The final volume relates to the conflict on the fronts further north. Although the fighting was equally bitter, it was not on the same scale as the conflict in the south.

Written by E.R. Hooton, Tom Cooper and Farzin Nadimi, the books themselves are quite slim, following the usual Helion format. At  around 80-ish pages each, these books combine well written text with numerous contemporary photographs, custom illustrations and details colour plates. Each volume contains an excellent biography and extensive notes on the main text and my only real issue with the series (and other Helion texts) is the lack of maps. More precisely, the lack of maps at the right juncture. In many, there is a detailed map with the names of key towns, facilities and the like, but they always seem to be placed in the back of the book. It would be handy if such maps were near the front where you can see them before being deluged with place names in the text, It is, however, a minor complaint.

Taken as a whole, the Middle East @ War Series volumes 5, 6, 9 and 10 provide a superb introduction, overview and description of the Iran-Iraq War and offer not only eye-witness accounts but also well argued analysis of the conflict. Given the nature and recent history of both nations, it is unlikely that we'll ever see a definitive single (or multi) volume history of this struggle but this quad of tomes is certainly enough to give the reader a finer appreciation of it. Indeed, the political shenanigans of the various factions within Iran was a revelation to me and provided a much greater depth of understanding as to why the state of Iran behaved the way it did. That and the ever-repeated experience of Iraq where dictators try to control too much centrally and end up making a hash of whatever they are trying to achieve.

Some might complain about the quality of the photographs (which is unwarranted considering the paucity of imagery anyway, due to the nature of the combatants) and the lack of detail in specific operations but as mentioned before, the bibliography is extensive and there are companion volumes also published by Helion that focus on specific aircraft types and their histories (The Mirage F1 and MiG 23 volumes in the same Middle East @ War Series provide far greater detail on the introduction to service and combat operations for those types).

I highly recommend these books to anyone with an interest in that specific conflict, the politics of the nations involved and late 20th Century military conflict in general. The information contained within is as much good use to war gamers as to history buffs and would contribute well to any game no matter what rule set you use. Certainly as far as my wargaming goes, future ventures to H'irraq will have some added verisimilitude courtesy of these fine books and others from Helion and Co.

If these titles have caught your interest or you just want to have a look at what else Helion offer, visit their website here.

Retro tech review: the Sony PEG-UX50

The Sony PEG-UX50 is a dinky little thing, looking a lot like a miniature laptop than the personal entertainment organiser it is advertised to be. What's that you say? What's a personal entertainment organiser? Well, it could be the posh job title for a concierge at a brothel (do brothels have concierges?), but it's actually a media orientated personal digital assistant. Released in 2003, it cost $699. A cheaper wi-fi less model, the UX40, cost $100 less. Put into 2019 money, that's equivalent to $970, or £765 (which does not include VAT!). So what did this princely sum buy you 16 years ago? Well, quite a bit...

As you can see, this is switched on. There is a menu on-screen...

Let's get the elephant out of the room. This is ostensibly a PDA but it is also very much a convergence device, that lovely, near mythical beast of jack and master of all trades. And, like many attempts in the past, whilst Sony took a decent swing at the all-in-one concept, it ended up landing a glancing blow rather than  a solid hit. But it doesn't half look cool!

Ah, that's better! The normal menu view

Specs first, and we have a Sony CXD2230GA processor running at 123MHz. This is based on the ARM 5 core and gives the ability to run video playback at 30 frames per second. This was once a big deal! It also supports variable scaling of the clock speed, meaning if there was not much of a workload for the CPU, it would slow down to maximise battery life. Memory is a quite generous 104MB, divided between storage for programs (16MB), system back-up (16MB) and media storage (29MB) and it's the latter that explains the UX50's purpose.

The rolodex view: funky but impractical

The screen is rather good, for the time. With a 480x320 resolution and 16-bit colour (meaning 65,536 colours), it is also back-lit. This, by the way, is mandatory. With the back light off, it's nearly impossible to read, even in bright sunlight. It also swivels around to lie flat against the keyboard, making the UX50 a mini-convertible. Connectivity is well catered for with a proprietary Memory Stick slot, USB for desktop syncing, Infrared, Bluetooth and 802.11b standard Wi-fi. Given all of that, there is a fair amount of tech in the compact casing. It's not overly heavy either, being built with magnesium-alloy rather than plastic, which also means it is also quite sturdy. An extendable stylus, non-removable lithium-ion battery, mandatory (I'll explain later) docking sled and a rotating 0.3 megapixel camera complete the package. There is also a lip that overhangs when the device is shut. This contains some shortcut keys (back, internet, email and organiser) and a scroll wheel, more about which later. It must be noted that this was the time when Sony kept adding scroll wheels to devices and in the context of the UX50, it is a useful item. Oh, and what looks like a fitting for a lanyard. I have no idea who would attach several hundred dollars of kit to a bag, belt or wrist but if you ever felt the need, Sony have you covered.

Right hand side: MS slot and headphone jack. Stylus to the left.

Left hand side: Power switch, Infrared USB and lanyard.

Software is based upon Palm OS v5.2. The usual apps are present and correct and they cover a wide range of organiser type activities. You also get MP3 playback, a web browser, an email client, an audio recorder, as well as video and photo apps for the camera. Even a text message app for your ultimate in 2003 communication needs! The scroll wheel is handy here as if you use the rotary menu view as it helps navigate the menu in the style of a rolodex. It also does that in the non-rolodex view but it suits the former better. It's a bit of a dubious feature as the screen resolution doesn't allow you to make out much in the way of detail on the apps unless they are pretty much in the centre of the screen. But still, it shows some consideration to the UI.

SMS: So 2003, darling!

As for the rest of the hardware, comment must be made about the keyboard. Firstly, they managed to fit one in, so the industrial design of the UX50 deserves applause. Secondly, despite the keys being quite small and hard to press, they are well spaced (helped by the ridged effect) and with two thumbs, you can get some decent note-taking done. The ridged design also complements the look of the device.

Closed, with lanyard hoop (!), scroll wheel and shortcut keys

In use, it is a nippy little thing and even through casual use, you can't help but think that the UX50 would have been a handy device to carry around. If you had the cash, that is. And access to a plug. You see, at this point, the convergence device dream falters. Here we go!

Battery life: despite the processor scaling and the easy to use docking sled, reviews at the time commented upon the sub-standard battery life. Three to four hours of steady use was about the limit, and wi-fi would hammer that even further, meaning the UX50 could never get through a full day unless you barely used it. Add the back-lit screen and whilst there are many things you can do with the UX50, you would need to do them rather quickly before you killed the battery. In the actual model I have, the battery lasts about an hour, decent enough considering its age and unknown previous use. Oh, and that sled? That is the only way to charge the device. There is no charging port on the UX50 itself. That means you need the sled and power cable which, by the way, uses a power brick that also takes up a fair amount of space and a separate lead for the plug. Hmmm.

On its sled, that port is Sony's own design.

The screen - it really is a bit too small. The relatively low resolution means that the small text in the web browser is almost impossible to see. That and the grainy effect destroys much of the quality of any video or photographs you may wish to view. Speaking of images, the on-board camera is also very poor, though for the time, it was possibly considered decent. Age has not been kind to imaging expectations. The screen also makes using the rotary menu view a bit too difficult to use for comfort. As noted above, without the back light, you ain't seeing diddly squat.

Screen folded over, actually pretty neat!

Storage is another issue. If music or video is your thing, then you are going to have to use the Memory Stick slot to add extra storage and that is a pet hatred of mine. Not the external storage per-se, more Sony's attitude to memory cards. Rather than use cheaper and more widely available Secure Digital format cards, they used their own proprietary (and suitably expensive) MS cards. True, this was a source of income for them, but as was proved with the PSP and PSP Vita handheld consoles, people were turned off by the idea of the costly extra memory, especially when you compared prices and realised how much they were gouging you for. But as already noted, Sony liked their proprietary standards back then.
The stylus. Whilst the UX50 has a touchscreen, it is resistive, so you're going to need that stylus or a finger nail. The supplied stylus is too small to use comfortably, even when extended and very easy to mis-place.

Size. It may seem churlish to decry the keyboard. After all, I have just said that it is decent. But the hard keys will wear you down over time and whilst good for note taking, they are no good for longer periods of use.

In the here and now, the PEG-UX50 can be seen for what it was: an attempt to have an all-round entertainment/productivity and organiser tool. The form factor is something I really like and, prior to touchscreens entering the mobile phone market, is one of the best examples of the mobile keyboard format I have seen - my favourite yet has to be a Blackberry 9300 but that's just me. The thing is, the UX50 was hobbled by the technology of the day and, to be honest, the target market it was aimed for. As in, what was the target market? For entertainment on the move, it was expensive and individual devices could offer a similar capability for a combined price lower than $699 and doing a better job all round. True, you'd have more kit to carry but money does talk and the amount this cost when released (and the equivalent now) is far too much for the consumer market. Indeed, many consumer devices have faltered with an RRP north of $500. As for the mobile professional, the price was bearable but the added entertainment features may have been considered unwarranted and the battery life too poor (it also doesn't help that the internal battery is non-removable so that docking sled would need to be carried too, reducing the usefulness of having to carry only one device given the sled's size). It is certainly well made and very well designed, just not overly practical.

Convergence devices always sound like a good idea (Teas maid/alarm clocks spring to mind), but they are often less than the sum of their parts. That should never be a reason not to consider them, just accept that there may be compromises that hobble the usefulness of the device. Even today, whilst the ubiquitous mobile phone can be considered the generic equivalent to the UX50, there are still issues that demonstrate these compromises. Battery life could always be better. Controls, especially for gaming, are impacted by the touchscreen interface, whereas physical controls may often prove better. Then there is the screen size itself, limited by the physical need to have the device able to be used by one hand. And no, I will never buy into the folding screen dream, that's just one more thing to break.

Still, as a history piece, the UX50 is worthy of remembrance, for the alternative ideas back when industrial design, greater competition and market focus had not succumbed to the homogeneity of today. And it still looks cool!